Bar Review: Smoke and Barrel Tavern

Smoke and Barrel Tavern

ATMOSPHERE
A pool table, a stage, board games, a smoking room, and a small library all make this bar a great place to jam out, hang out or relax. Jeans, flannel and pearl-button snaps are all welcome. Ladies, leave your cocktail dress at home. Throw on a pair of boots and get ready to dance to live music or kick back and relax.

QUALITY
Smoke and Barrel offers one of the best happy hours on Dickson Street. You can drink $2 wells every day from 2 to 8 p.m. as well as $2 domestic bottles and $1 off wine. OK, so that’s every day. Check this out:
Monday — $2 well drinks all night
Tuesday — Half off wine
Wednesday — 25 percent of all whiskey
Thursday — Half off well martinis and specialty cocktails
Sunday — $3 Mimosas and $4 Bloody Marys
They keep decent stuff in the well, so the everyday happy hour is actually a bargain. However, the real value is on Whiskey Wednesday. With 150 bottles of whiskey, you can save big bucks to try something new, to drink more of the old standby, or to sip on a high-dollar spirit you couldn’t otherwise afford.

Try these on Whiskey Wednesday
Redbreast 12 — $9
This is a light Irish whiskey, perfect for sipping. It’s sweet, with flavors of coconut, that have earned it the nickname, “Irish Nectar.”

Pappy Vanwinkle Reserve 20-Year — $22.50
This is a rare American whiskey; and Smoke and Barrel buys half of what comes into the state. Ranked as the No. 1 Bourbon Whiskey in the world by the World Spirits Championship, this is a must-try for the bourbon enthusiast. For those who like to drink whiskey neat, you will find that the Vanwinkle 20 has a sweet and smoky taste, similar to maple syrup.

The Balvenie 21 Year — $54
Aged in a port cask and made from barley malt, this is one hell of a scotch. There are no overbearing tones of peat like in some Scotches. Tastes of honey — sweet, smoky and nutty — linger on the palate long after the first sip. Yes, the sticker price is high, but visit the bar on a Wednesday and plop down some of your Christmas cash to try something new. If you’re a Scotch enthusiast, you’re gonna love it.

Aberlour 16-Year-Old Double Cask – $14
Aged in oak and sherry casks; there is a woodiness to this Scotch, as well as sweet and spicy flavors. This is sweet, wonderful, and at a lower price than the Balvenie, it is a great drink for the newbie Scotch drinker.

Order one of these on Thursdays:

Staff Photo by Blair Jackson: The Sazerac and The Honeycomb two superb cocktails from the specialty drink list at Smoke and Barrel. (Half-off on Thursdays!)

Sazerac

Made with Sazerac, a rye whiskey distilled in New Orleans, rimmed in Herbsaint liqueur and splashed with a few drops of Peychaud’s super-sweet bitters; this is a light, zesty cocktail that is a great alternative to the classic Manhattan. It is served chilled in a rocks glass with lemon zest and a cherry.

The Honeycomb
Oh, goodness, made with American Honey Bourbon, this drink is sweet and smooth. If you like a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, you will love this cocktail. That being said, it is light and refreshing and doesn’t sit as heavily on the palate as a White Russian. For only $3.50 on Thursdays, you can afford to have two. Yum